Yukos: $3 bn Stolen

Russian bankrupt oil company Yukos said Thursday that promissory notes worth over $3 billion had been lost and may have been stolen from a defunct trading subsidiary whose former general manager is the subject of a criminal lawsuit.

The news appears to nudge the former Russia's largest oil producer closer to the abyss and could add further weight to a bankruptcy suit filed by Yukos' creditors that is due to be heard Tuesday.

The notes "may have been sold, at a reduced rate, to external parties," the statement said.